How do Jass Weis points work?

What counts as Weis in Jass?

Weis is a meld declared during the first trick, consisting of a sequence in one suit or four cards of the same rank. The meld must be held in a player’s hand, and the teams compare their strongest melds before either side can score Weis.

A sequence starts at three cards in one suit. Its value depends on its length:

• Three cards are worth 20.
• Four cards are worth 50.
• Five cards are worth 100.
• Six cards are worth 150.
• Seven cards are worth 200.
• Eight cards are worth 250.
• Nine cards are worth 300.

Sequences use the natural rank order from six to ace. For example, a sequence may run through six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Ober, king and ace, provided that the cards belong to one suit and are held in the hand. Weis does not use the inverted trick order of Undenufe.

Four of a kind has a separate value. Four Under are worth 200, four Nell are worth 150, and four aces, kings, Obers or tens are worth 100. Four sixes, sevens or eights have no Weis value. A four of a kind made from four sixes therefore does not beat a sequence worth 20.

A card may belong to a sequence and to a four of a kind at the same time. Suppose a player holds a card that completes a sequence and also forms four cards of one rank. That card remains part of both possible melds. The player compares the values and declares only the strongest meld in the hand.

The best Weis is not a collection of every meld declared by both teams. The teams compare their single best melds, and only the team holding the strongest one scores Weis. That team records both partners’ melds together. The other team records nothing for Weis, even if one of its players announced a valid meld.

Weis remains separate from ordinary trick points. The card values guide explains the values carried by cards and the last trick. Stöck, meaning the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand, follows a separate rule and is not part of the Weis comparison.

When do players declare and show a Weis meld?

Each player declares the value of their best Weis while playing a card to the first trick. Players announce in turn as they play, using the value alone, such as “twenty”, “fifty” or “a hundred”.

A player does not name the cards, announce the suit, state the length of a sequence or describe a four of a kind. The first-trick declaration gives the other players a public value for comparison, but it does not yet prove the exact meld. The actual cards remain concealed until the relevant team shows them on the second trick.

Only the team that turns out to hold the single best Weis shows the actual cards. The points become certain at that showing. The winning team then records its own melds and both partners’ melds together, according to the applicable Weis values. The losing team scores nothing for Weis, even if its announced value matched or exceeded an opponent’s public declaration before the cards were checked.

Partners may not tell each other about a meld or ask about one. A partner may hear an announced value, but may not ask whether the meld is a sequence, a four of a kind, a trump-suit meld or a particular length. A partner may not answer such a question either. Only the values announced during the first trick are public before the showing.

Consider a hand containing a five-card sequence worth 100 and four cards of a rank worth 100. The player announces “a hundred”, not both possibilities. If the team wins the comparison, the player shows the meld that establishes the result. A card may still have belonged to both combinations when the hand was assessed.

A declared value does not settle every comparison. A five-card sequence worth 100 and four aces worth 100 require the later comparison steps. The players first compare the points, then use the number of cards and the remaining tie-breakers. The second-trick showing supplies the exact cards needed for that decision.

Stöck uses a different declaration moment. A player declares Stöck while playing the second of the king and Ober of the trump suit. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind each other. The Stöck rules describe that separate declaration and its conditions.

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How do you compare two Jass Weis melds?

Compare two Weis melds in a fixed order: points, number of cards, highest card, trump suit, then seat position relative to the forehand. The first difference decides the comparison, so a later test cannot overturn an earlier result.

Begin with the meld values. Four Under are worth 200, while four Nell are worth 150. A five-card sequence is worth 100, as are four aces, four kings, four Obers and four tens. A meld worth 150 beats a meld worth 100, regardless of the cards’ trick strength in the current contract.

Use the number of cards when the values are equal. A five-card sequence worth 100 beats four aces worth 100 because the sequence has five cards and the four of a kind has four. The comparison stops at card count. It does not matter that an ace is the highest natural rank.

The same test applies to equal-value sequences. A four-card sequence worth 50 cannot beat a five-card sequence worth 50, because the longer sequence wins. If both melds have the same value and the same length, continue to the highest card. A sequence ending in ace ranks above a sequence ending in king at that stage.

Use natural rank order for the highest-card step: six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Ober, king and ace. This order applies to Weis under every contract. A card that takes a trick in one contract may not take a trick in another, but that change does not alter the natural order used for a meld comparison.

If the points, lengths and highest cards are all equal, a meld in the trump suit takes precedence. This step matters only after the earlier comparisons have produced no winner. If the melds still match, use seat position relative to the forehand as the final comparison.

For a worked comparison, imagine a five-card sequence worth 100 against four aces worth 100. The points tie. The sequence has more cards, so it wins immediately. Imagine four Nell worth 150 against a six-card sequence worth 150. The points tie and both melds have the same number of cards, so compare their highest cards, then trump suit and seat position if necessary.

The Weis tool can help identify a possible meld and its value. It does not replace the comparison order. Players still need to show the relevant cards and apply each tie-breaker in sequence.

Does Undenufe change the order used for Weis?

Undenufe does not reverse the order used for Weis. Weis always follows the natural order from six to ace, while Undenufe reverses the order used to take tricks.

The two systems answer different questions. The contract determines which cards are strong during trick play. Weis determines how melds compare for the separate meld score. A low card may be favoured when taking a trick in Undenufe, but that does not make the low card higher than an ace in the Weis comparison.

Suppose two equal-value sequences have the same length and need a highest-card comparison during Undenufe. Read the sequences in natural order. A sequence ending in ace remains higher than a sequence ending in king, even though the ace may not have the same trick strength under the contract.

Obenabe also leaves the Weis order unchanged. Obenabe and Undenufe are contract forms that affect play, not alternative rank systems for meld comparison. Players should therefore keep two checks separate:

• Use the contract’s trick order to decide which card wins a trick.
• Use the natural six-to-ace order to compare equal-value Weis melds.

Stöck does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe. Stöck requires the king and Ober of the trump suit in one hand, so it belongs to a contract with trumps. Its absence does not change sequence values, four-of-a-kind values or the Weis comparison ladder.

Schieber, meaning the partner-led contract selection method, also does not change the Weis order. The Schieber rules explain how partners choose the contract. The contract reference for Obenabe and Undenufe explains the play forms, while Weis keeps its own comparison method.

A useful table-side check is to name the contract first, then assess the meld. Ask which cards win tricks under that contract only when playing the trick. When comparing melds, return to the natural sequence from six through ace. This prevents an Undenufe trick rule from being carried into a Weis decision.

How many points can Weis add to a Jass round?

A Jass round uses 36 cards, deals 9 cards to each of 4 players and contains 9 tricks. The pack contains 152 card points, and the last trick adds 5, so the card score reaches 157 before Weis, Stöck and the match bonus are added.

A team that takes all 9 tricks receives a match bonus of 100. That produces 257 points for the round before adding Weis and Stöck. The match bonus belongs to the trick score; it does not affect the value or comparison of a meld.

Weis goes to only one team. The team with the single best meld writes the meld points for both partners together. The other team writes no Weis. This remains true when both teams have announced valid melds or when the announced values appear equal before the actual cards are shown.

Stöck is a separate 20 points. It consists of the king and Ober of the trump suit held in one hand, and it is credited to that player’s team regardless of the Weis comparison. Stöck does not exist in Obenabe or Undenufe. A player must declare it while playing the second of the two cards, not the first.

The scoring order matters when a round takes a team past its target. Count the blocks in this order:

1. Weis.
2. Stöck.
3. Tricks.

The team that crosses the target during an earlier block wins. A team may therefore win during the Weis block before the Stöck or trick points are counted. Keep each block separate on the Jasstafel until the order has been applied.

Practice targets are 1000, 1500, 2500 and 3000. The app offers 1000 and 2500. These targets do not alter the values of sequences, four of a kind, Stöck, cards, the last trick or the match bonus.

For example, a round that includes a winning Weis claim must first add the winning team’s Weis, including both partners’ melds. Add valid Stöck next. Add the trick points and the 100 match bonus where the team has taken all 9 tricks. If the target is crossed during the first block, the later blocks do not move the win to the other team.

How can you check a Weis decision at the table?

Check a Weis decision by recording the first-trick declarations, verifying the shown melds on the second trick and applying the comparison ladder in order. The procedure gives every disputed point a defined step without requiring partners to disclose their cards.

First, note the value announced by each player as that player plays to the first trick. Record “twenty”, “fifty”, “a hundred” or the other announced value, but do not ask for the cards behind the declaration. Partners may not tell each other about a meld, and they may not ask about one.

Second, wait for the second-trick showing by the team with the strongest claim. Check the actual cards. A sequence must run in one suit and follow the natural order. A four of a kind must contain four cards of the same rank. A card may appear in a sequence and a four of a kind at the same time, so do not reject a meld merely because one card appears in another combination.

Third, compare the strongest melds. Use points first. If the values match, count the cards. If the lengths match, compare the highest card in natural order from six to ace. If the highest cards match, prefer a meld in the trump suit. If no difference remains, use seat position relative to the forehand.

Fourth, award Weis only to the winning team. Add both partners’ melds together for that team. Do not add the losing team’s announced meld, and do not treat a declaration as a score before the strongest team has shown the actual cards on the second trick.

Finally, check Stöck and the trick score separately. Stöck is available only where trumps apply, and the player must declare it while playing the second card of the king-and-Ober pair. If the next player has already covered that card before the declaration, the 20 points are lost. Partners may not remind each other.

Use the Weis reference tool to check possible values, then confirm the result against the inserted Weis table and comparison order. Use the card values guide for ordinary trick scoring. Use contract rules to confirm whether the contract is Obenabe, Undenufe or a trump-suit form. If the target is crossed, apply Weis, Stöck and tricks in that order.